Suburban Square

Suburban Square is a community shopping center in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia's Main Line suburbs. Opened in 1928, it is one of the earliest purpose-planned suburban shopping centers in the United States and is especially associated with the development of the suburban department-store branch. The center's defining historical event was the opening of a four-story Strawbridge & Clothier department-store branch on May 12, 1930. That store gave the complex an anchor of a type that was still unusual outside major downtown districts and helped establish a model in which a major department store was placed at the center of a planned cluster of specialty shops, food retail, entertainment, offices, and parking. Planning began in 1926, with architectural work undertaken by Dreher and Churchman, and construction following in 1927. The development was originally given the rarely used name Hestobeen Square, reportedly formed from elements of the developers' names. A 1936 naming contest produced the Suburban Square name that has endured. The initial design was conceived as more than a strip of stores: Frederick Dreher's plan called for a coordinated group of shops around a principal department store, with provisions for a supermarket, movie theater, office buildings, and substantial parking. This arrangement anticipated later American shopping-center formats by bringing several kinds of commercial activity together in a suburban setting. Suburban Square's historical claim is specific rather than universal. Early editions of the Guinness Book of World Records described it as the first shopping center, but later editions recognized Baltimore's Roland Park Shopping Center, opened in 1907, for that broader distinction. Suburban Square is more narrowly credited as the first suburban shopping center to include a true department store, reflecting the 1930 Strawbridge & Clothier opening. Other earlier or contemporary developments, including Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, demonstrate why claims about the first shopping center depend on definitions such as scale, planning, location, and the presence of an anchor department store. The complex expanded over time from its original seven acres to approximately 18 acres. Its present scope includes Suburban Square, the Times Building, and the adjacent Ardmore Farmers Market, with more than 60 retail and dining establishments. The center has therefore evolved from an early department-store-centered project into a mixed-use, walkable retail and dining destination. Its tenant mix and physical footprint have changed as department stores declined and service, fitness, food, specialty retail, and lifestyle businesses became more important. The former Strawbridge's branch was converted to Macy's in 2006. Macy's later closed the location in March 2016, ending the department-store chapter of the building's history. In early 2017, plans were announced to replace the former Macy's space with Life Time Fitness and West Elm, representing a shift from traditional department-store anchoring toward fitness, home furnishings, and experience-oriented uses. Suburban Square remains active and historically notable, although available reference material does not identify a single current corporate owner, operating company, or official website.

Suburban Square developed during the interwar expansion of automobile-oriented and rail-accessible suburban commerce around Philadelphia's Main Line. Planning began in 1926, when the architectural firm Dreher and Churchman undertook work on a coordinated commercial development in Ardmore. Construction began in 1927, and the center opened in 1928. Its original working or rarely used name was Hestobeen Square, a composite derived from the names of three developers. The project was later renamed Suburban Square through a public contest held in 1936. The development's importance came from its planned composition. Rather than simply placing unrelated stores along a road, its designers envisioned a cluster organized around a major department store, supplemented by a supermarket, movie theater, office buildings, and ample parking. This arrangement reflected changing patterns of American consumption, as retailers began experimenting with branches outside traditional downtown shopping districts and as suburban households gained greater access to automobiles and planned commercial destinations. On May 12, 1930, Strawbridge & Clothier opened a four-story, approximately 50,000-square-foot branch at Suburban Square. The opening was historically significant because it was among the earliest suburban branches of a major downtown department store and is generally cited as making Suburban Square the first suburban shopping center to contain a true department store. Strawbridge's suburban expansion was unusual for its time; comparable early examples included branches or suburban formats associated with retailers such as Filene's, B. H. Dyas, Bullocks Wilshire, and Marshall Field's. Strawbridge's branches at Suburban Square and Jenkintown were among the last such pre-World War II suburban extensions before the format expanded more broadly after the war. Suburban Square has sometimes been described as the first shopping center in the United States. Early editions of the Guinness Book of World Records used that description, but later editions, beginning in 1979, credited Roland Park Shopping Center in Baltimore, which opened in 1907, with the broader first-shopping-center distinction. Country Club Plaza in Kansas City also opened earlier, in 1923, and grew to a substantially larger scale. These competing claims reflect differing definitions of a shopping center. Suburban Square's more precise historical distinction concerns the integration of a genuine department-store branch into a planned suburban center. The site expanded from approximately seven acres at launch to about 18 acres. Its present complex includes Suburban Square, the Times Building, and the adjacent Ardmore Farmers Market. Together, the properties support more than 60 retail and dining establishments. Over time, the center's commercial identity broadened beyond its original department-store model, incorporating specialty stores, restaurants, service businesses, fitness uses, and home-related retail. The original Strawbridge's store became a Macy's in 2006. Macy's closed the location in March 2016. In early 2017, the former department-store space was planned for conversion to a Life Time Fitness health club and a West Elm furniture store. This reuse illustrates the longer-term transformation of American suburban retail, in which large department-store boxes have increasingly been adapted for fitness, home furnishings, entertainment, services, and other experience-led uses. Suburban Square remains an active shopping center and a notable example of early planned suburban retail development.

• 2017

  Redevelopment of the former department-store space is announced

  [1]Suburban Squareen.wikipedia.org

  Life Time Fitness and West Elm are announced as planned users of the former Macy's space.

• 2016

  Macy's closes

  [1]Suburban Squareen.wikipedia.org

  Macy's closes the former department-store location in March.

• 2006

  Strawbridge's becomes Macy's

  [1]Suburban Squareen.wikipedia.org

  The historic Strawbridge's branch is converted to a Macy's store.

• 1936

  The Suburban Square name is adopted

  [1]Suburban Squareen.wikipedia.org

  A naming contest results in the adoption of Suburban Square, replacing the rarely used Hestobeen Square name.

• 1930

  Strawbridge & Clothier opens a department-store branch

  [1]Suburban Squareen.wikipedia.org

  A four-story, approximately 50,000-square-foot Strawbridge & Clothier branch opens on May 12, establishing the center's distinctive historical department-store distinction.

• 1928

  Suburban Square opens

  [1]Suburban Squareen.wikipedia.org

  The shopping center opens in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, initially occupying about seven acres.

• 1927

  Construction starts

  [1]Suburban Squareen.wikipedia.org

  Construction begins on the planned suburban shopping development.

• 1926

  Planning begins

  [1]Suburban Squareen.wikipedia.org

  Architectural planning for the Ardmore commercial center begins with Dreher and Churchman.

A walkable, historically significant Main Line community shopping center combining specialty retail, dining, services, fitness, home furnishings, and nearby market activity.

• Community shopping center · 1928

  Suburban Square shopping center

  The core retail complex in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, designed as a planned cluster of shops and services. The wider property has grown from its original seven acres to approximately 18 acres and is associated with more than 60 retail and dining establishments. Its tenant mix has evolved from department-store-led retail toward specialty shopping, food, fitness, services, and home-related uses.

• Retail real estate · 1930

  Historic department-store anchor building

  The large anchor space first occupied by Strawbridge & Clothier in 1930, later converted to Macy's in 2006. After Macy's closed in 2016, the space was planned for reuse by Life Time Fitness and West Elm, reflecting the repurposing of legacy department-store buildings.

• Mixed-use commercial property

  Times Building

  A component of the broader Suburban Square complex. Available reference material identifies the Times Building as part of the current site but does not provide sufficient detail on its tenants or ownership.

• Farmers market

  Ardmore Farmers Market

  An adjacent market included in the broader Suburban Square setting. It contributes food and local-market activity to the center's wider retail and dining environment.

• 2017

  Repurpose the former Macy's spaceStrategy

  Background

  Following Macy's closure, the center needed a new use for its large historic anchor space.

  Action taken

  Plans were announced for Life Time Fitness and West Elm to occupy the former Macy's location.

  Aftermath

  The announcement represented a shift toward fitness, home furnishings, and experience-oriented commercial uses rather than a conventional department-store replacement.

  Source

• 2006

  Convert the Strawbridge's anchor to Macy'sStrategy

  Background

  The long-running Strawbridge & Clothier department-store operation was affected by the consolidation of department-store brands.

  Action taken

  The historic Strawbridge's branch was converted to a Macy's store.

  Aftermath

  Macy's subsequently operated the location until closing it in March 2016.

  Source

1. 1Suburban Squareen.wikipedia.org